50 Posts From An Anti-MLM Community That Show Just How Wild The World Of “Boss Babes” Can Get (New Pics)

Be your own boss, work from anywhere in the world, choose your own hours and watch the money come rolling in. I mean, why wouldn't you?

On the surface, it might seem like a dream but you probably aren't being sold the full and true picture. Call them multi-level marketing (MLM), network marketing, or direct marketing businesses, at their core they involve selling products to family and friends, and recruiting other people to do the same.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that some MLMs are actually illegal pyramid schemes.

The FTC's site explains that MLM companies sell their products or services through person-to-person sales. So if or when you join one, you'll be selling something directly to other people, either from your home, at customer’s home, or online. Hence the "work from anywhere."

Your new title, apart from Boss Babe, would typically be independent “distributor,” “participant,” or “contractor.” According the the FTC, most MLMs say you can make money two ways: By selling the MLM’s products yourself to “retail” customers who are not involved in the MLM; or by recruiting new distributors and earning commissions based on what they buy and their sales to retail customers.

"If the MLM is not a pyramid scheme, it will pay you based on your sales to retail customers, without having to recruit new distributors," notes the FTC.

However, the commission warns that it's often not as lucrative as many people have been led to believe. "Most people who join legitimate MLMs make little or no money. Some of them lose money," it warns. "In some cases, people believe they’ve joined a legitimate MLM, but it turns out to be an illegal pyramid scheme that steals everything they invest and leaves them deeply in debt."

The FTC bluntly calls pyramid schemes flat-out scams, and warns that they can look remarkably like legitimate MLM business opportunities, selling actual products. Perhaps ones you've heard of, or something more strange, like "magic water."

However, that catch is that if you become a boss babe distributor for a pyramid scheme, it can cost you and your recruits (these are often your family and friends) a lot of time and money that you will never get back.

We've seen the posts and pitches online. "Change your life. Quit your job. Get rich quick." It's a blatant lie, and that's because your income is based on how many people you recruit, not how much product you sell.

"Pyramid schemes are set up to encourage everyone to keep recruiting people to keep a constant stream of new distributors — and their money — flowing into the business," say the FTC's experts.

It's also not unusual for you to have to spend money to make money. In other words, some pyramid schemes will encourage or require you to buy stock at regular intervals, even if you already have inventory than you can use or sell.

But wait, there's more...

"You may even have to buy products before you’re eligible to be paid or get certain bonuses. You also may have to pay repeated fees for other items, like training sessions or expensive marketing materials," warns the FTC. "In addition, the company may say you can earn lavish rewards, like prizes, bonuses, exotic vacations, and luxury cars."

If you read the fine print, you'll probably first have to meet certain product purchase, recruitment, training, or other goals to qualify for the rewards. And they don't make it easy to achieve.

Before you fall for the hype, end up running out of money, are forced to quit, or worst, lose everything you invested, you need to be aware of the following red flags:

1. Promoters who make extravagant promises, telling you that you'll earn A LOT of money.
2. Promoters who insist that recruiting new distributors for your sales network is the fastest way up the food chain. You should be able to make money just by selling a product.
3. Promoters who pressure you and want you to sign up immediately, without properly researching the company.

If you still decide to join an MLM after scrolling through this list, know that success is not guaranteed. In fact, research shows that a whopping 95% of network marketers or multi-level marketing recruits fail. But this isn't something the company is going to broadcast.

"The people that do succeed are in the minority. When you attend MLM meetings, the success of the top 2% sales people are generally highlighted," explains the Moneyweb site. "The significant failure rate of their salespeople is generally overlooked because it is built into the business model. Designing a business plan with a 95% failure rate and where successful people are the proven exception is counter-intuitive."